The Field Trip
by Loki Kix
Summary: Rachel, Tobias, Ax, and Marco go on a class trip while Jake takes care of sick Cassie. Some minor swear words. A little bit of RT and JC.
1. Gymnastics

Author's note: So this one's set sometime after #29 where they all get sick (one of my faves. Ax at the dance? Genius!). I started this one a looooong time ago and just now found it again. I don't own Animorphs or anything copyrighted. Parentheses equal thoughtspeak since the carrots don't work.

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**Rachel **

My name is Rachel. And usually I'd go into the whole shebang about good aliens and bad aliens and conspiracy and paranoia and morphing and such, but you already know about that. Besides, right at that moment, I had more pressing things to worry about. Like the fact that I was wearing a black leotard. With _glitter_ on it_. In the middle of the mall._ How had I come to this? I've faced monsters so horrific they'd make Schwarzenegger cry like a baby. I've charged full-grown Hork-Bajir when the odds were eight to one against me. I've opposed the darkest evil this planet has ever seen for almost three years and I still live. So why why _why _did I have to be seen in my own mall all sparkly and prissy-looking doing the absolute worst gymnastics routine of my life?

I love gymnastics, don't get me wrong. And I used to be good at it. Sometimes I think that if the war had never happened, if I'd had the time and energy to devote to the sport, I might've been ok despite my height and broad shoulders. But the fact was flipping around on a springy floor just didn't hold many thrills for me anymore. Yet I had to do it, to maintain the façade of normalcy. My mom probably already thought I was in a gang with all the time I spent away from home. If I quit gymnastics now, it would only raise more eyebrows.

And you can't keep going to practice without somehow getting roped into a competition, so there I was at the all-city meet. It was being held in the arena on the fourth floor of the biggest mall in the county—my _favorite _mall. Which somehow made it even worse.

I squared my shoulders and glared at the far corner of the floor. Already that day I'd fallen off the beam twice, misplaced a hand on the vault, and face-planted during my bar dismount. The floor exercise was my last shot. The generic bass-heavy music my coach had chosen began blasting through the sound system, and I cleared my mind and ran.

Almost two minutes later, I took my final tumbling pass. It all came down to the dismount, a simple one; I'd nailed it in warm-ups. I landed hard, my knees taking most of the shock. My toes gripped the short carpet fibers as my quad muscles strained to hold my wobbling body upright. No! I lurched out of bounds and then sat down hard. _Dammit! _I cursed myself. But like an idiot, I had to stand up, fling my arms out, and smile as if I'd stuck a perfect landing.

I walked off the floor scowling and swearing under my breath as my coach delivered some lecture I wasn't interested in hearing. Instead my gaze wandered up to the spectator area where at the very top of the bleachers sat a tall, skinny, sandy-haired guy. He smiled at me and nodded slightly. I shook my head and made a face. Next to him sat a curly-headed, eerily-pretty, wide-eyed boy guzzling a slurpee so big he could've bathed in it. Tobias and Ax. I told them not to come, but secretly I was glad they were there. At least I had some fans.

(Good job, Rachel,) Tobias said in private thoughtspeak. I smiled and rolled my eyes self-depreciatingly. A pang of sadness sneaked up on me as I realized not for the first time that Tobias could communicate that way only because that body was a morph for him as much as my grizzly was for me.

I tried to pretend I was listening to my coach—he seemed kind of angry, something about my heart not being in it—but Ax's own thoughtspeak interrupted him again.

(Yes Rachel, excellent display of acrobatics. I am constantly amazed at your species' ability to overcome your lack of balancing appendages,) he said as he took the lid off the giant cup he held in order to stick his face in it. (Marco says to tell you "Nice landing, Keri Strug," but I believe he may have been employing sarcasm.) Marco. The boy loved to torment me. It was probably the only reason he'd come along with them. But then I remembered the athletic girls in skimpy leotards running and jumping all around me. Well, maybe not the _only _reason.

The dark-haired, olive-skinned kid grabbed the slurpee away from Ax and threw up his hands in exasperation. Ax's face had a blue ring around it, and his cheeks bulged with the syrupy ice shavings. I saw all of this over my coach's shoulder and stifled a giggle. It didn't go unnoticed. "Come back when you're SERIOUS about this sport, missy," he barked. He turned and stalked off. Oh well, maybe now I could quit without raising suspicions.

I headed for the locker room to change. I left the meet without even checking my scores. No way was I winning anything today. Besides, I wanted to catch up with my friends before two of them had to demorph. We met in the crowded food court. I slipped into a chair and helped myself to some of Marco's fries.

"Hey hey hey! Don't you gymnasts have to watch your figures?" he griped petulantly, shielding his plate.

"You shouldn't eat these, Marco, they'll stunt your growth. Well, they'll stunt it _more,_" I shot back.

"Great meet, Rachel," Tobias said again. He took my hand under the table and squeezed it.

"I'm just glad you guys missed most of it," I said. Then, lowering my tone, I added, "So are we going ahead with this plan?"

"Oh man, this has got to be the worst idea ever," Marco complained, "Taking Ax and Bird-boy on a major class field trip? Especially now that Jake's not going to be there? Too risky."

Our politics and civic values classes had put together a field trip to the nation's capital for our entire grade. Originally Jake thought it could be an opportunity to see if the Yeerks had gained a foothold in Washington DC. He, Cassie, Marco and I were going to go, leaving Ax and Tobias to monitor the situation in our town. But now Cassie had come down with the _Yamphut _virus that plagued the rest of us the previous week, and Jake wanted to stay with her. He also made some excuse about Tom's involvement in secret meetings with Visser Three, but I knew the real reason he was reluctant to go. Cassie had saved us all. He wasn't about to leave her alone and sick for a week. It was actually his suggestion that Ax and Tobias go in his and Cassie's places.

"I think we should do it," Tobias stated, "This could be a really good chance to figure out how much progress the Yeerks have made. Besides, Ax wants to learn more about human history. We should have no problem ditching the class, right?"

"Hello? Am I the only one here with a survival instinct? You _do _know who the primary chaperone is, right? Only everyone's favorite Controller: Assistant Principle Chapman. I can think of twenty ways this mission could blow up in our faces before we even leave the airport," Marco protested

"Oh c'mon!" I rebutted impatiently, "We'll be fine. When else are we going to get a chance this convenient?"

"Rachel is correct. And there is also the possibility we may be able to expose the Yeerk conspiracy to your president or someone else in authority," Ax added, taking a break from the chili dog he was inhaling. "Thor. Ritty. Tee tee teeeee," he said as an afterthought. He still hadn't quite been able to stop playing with sounds.

"Oh yeah, how could this _possibly _go wrong?" Marco snapped sarcastically.

Eventually, despite his doubts and misgivings, the three of us were able to talk him into it. Even Jake thought the idea was sound. After all, this was predominantly a reconnaissance mission. There would be no battles, no Yeerk pool infiltration, no Visser Three. It was going to be a vacation, practically.


	2. Mac n Cheese

**Rachel**

We left the mall pretty soon after that conversation. Time was running short for Tobias and Ax, and I had to get home to watch my sisters while my mom met with a client. Marco and I grabbed the bus to the suburbs and walked a few blocks together.

"So, nice to see you're not perfect at _every_thing Xena," he chided me. I was still annoyed he'd invited himself to my competition, but I wasn't about to show it.

"I'm glad you could see me over the heads of all those grown-ups in front of you," I retorted, "I thought you'd have to sit on Ax's shoulders." Marco snorted a laugh in response.

"This shameless flirting has to stop, Rachel. What would Tobias say?" Marco sighed melodramatically and draped his arm around my shoulder.

"Please. As if," I growled, shoving off his pass. This was typical Marco-banter, but it was getting on my nerves.

"Seriously Xena, we need to be super careful tomorrow. If something goes down on our field trip, how long do you think it'll take the Yeerks to figure out their 'Andalite Bandits' are kids from our school?"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know," I mumbled, "no psycho elephants or grizzlies. I heard Jake at the meeting yesterday same as you." He hadn't said anything about psycho eagles or Hork-Bajir or polar bears, or any of my secondary battle morphs, but I got what he was saying. I stopped at the street corner where our paths separated and shifted my gym bag to my other shoulder. "It'll be _fine _Marco, I promise. It'll probably be more about baby-sitting Ax than causing trouble." _Unless we get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity…_I added silently.

"Yeah, I should worry more about my civics paper. One more D and I won't have to worry about the Yeerks half as much as the Wrath of Dad," he cracked.

"See you tomorrow at school, bright and early," I called as I turned down my street.

"6am wake-up, 5 hour cross-country flight sharing the exit-row with an alien in disguise, and then a week surrounded by evil aliens and politicians, AND a 10-page paper at the end of it! What could _possibly _go wrong?" I heard him gripe as he walked away.

Nobody complains like Marco.

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I started a pot of mac 'n' cheese for Jordan and Sara and flopped onto the couch after my mother hustled out the door in a blur of lipstick and legal briefs. My sisters were parked in front of the TV, oblivious to the world around them. No one asked me about the meet, for which I was grateful. After about ten minutes of cartoons—all my attention span could take—I went up to my room to finish packing. I'm not some big nerd or anything, but I was excited for this field trip. I like school, and I usually get good grades.

I opened the window with no screen wide in case Tobias dropped by. Sure enough, as I was debating whether to take four of my new tank tops or only three, a familiar raptor alighted on the window sill.

(Hey. You busy?)

"Nah, c'mon in. Mom's not here and Jordan and Sara will be hypnotized until the Spongebob marathon ends. You can demorph if you want," I added slightly suggestively. For once he didn't remind me his human self was just a morph.

(Sure. Ready for tomorrow?) he asked as he shed feathers and became his human self.

"Oh yeah. Honestly, I don't know what Jake and Marco are worried about. You need a haircut," I added, looking at the messy hair falling in front of his eyes, "and NOT one from Ax this time."

"What? I thought it looked fine."

"It looked like you stuck your head under a lawn mower."

"It's hard to keep up appearances when you're only human for a few hours a week."

"Well, you know how to fix that," I responded.

"Yeah, and you know why I won't." He shoved me playfully onto the bed. I grabbed his hands and pulled him down next to me. I reached over and pushed his unruly, dirty-blonde hair out of his eyes. He took my cheeks in his hands and pulled me even closer. I closed my eyes and leaned in and—

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Smoke detector!

"Rachel! The macaroni's on fire!" shrieked a high-pitched voice from downstairs. Great. Thanks so much Sara.

"I better go," I sighed and started to get up. He stood up too and kissed me sweetly before backing away toward the open window. I smiled as I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Was I ready for this week? A week away from home with Tobias?

Oh yes.


	3. What was that girl's name?

**Tobias**

(Tobias, it is time to wake up) Ax said from the bottom of my favorite tree. Field Trip day. The bus was leaving Rachel and Marco's school for the airport at 7am in order to get a 10am flight to Washington. I stretched my wings and preened a little.

('Morning Ax. You ready to do this?) I asked my friend.

(Yes, I have studied Cassie's habits for two days. I am prepared.) Ax was going to morph Cassie and I was going to be Jake. They had never told Chapman they weren't going, and this way we wouldn't have to account for two completely new faces. Usually we tried not to morph sentient beings, but Jake and Cassie were OK with it. However, none of the human, or former human, members of the Animorphs had ever morphed the opposite sex before, and we weren't going to start now.

(Then let's roll,) I said as I swooped off my branch and through the air. I flew overhead as Ax skirted logs and bushes.

We stopped in a patch of woods near the school. It's always weird for me to go back there. It's been almost three years since I was actually enrolled there, but I still remember the hell on earth it was. Not that I had anything to fear from bullies and jerks now. Ax seemed nervous too. He'd had a bad half-day there awhile back, but I wondered if he was thinking about his own school. He never talked about it fondly.

(I see Prince Jake and Marco approaching,) he piped up.

(I _heard _him two minutes ago,) I said. It's this silly competition we have going. I still think my raptor eyes are better than Ax's, but they were approaching from behind us. Ax sees in 360 degrees.

"Yeah, well _I _see a giant blue deer and a talking bird too close to the school," Marco said. He was unusually chipper for early morning.

(Relax. No one can see us from here,) I told him.

"'Morning everybody. Where's Rachel?" asked Jake. He dropped the two duffel bags he'd been carrying on the ground and looked up at me. "If you guys can remember, take some notes for me and Cassie. We'll still have to turn in papers for this trip."

(No problem,) I said.

(Yes, homework will be a novelty,) added Ax.

"Well if that's the way you feel, do mine too," said Marco.

We chatted and made small talk for awhile waiting for Rachel. Finally she crunched through the leaf litter hauling a giant suitcase on wheels. I guessed it held about half of The Gap's spring line.

"Damn, Rachel. You know it's only a week right?" Marco made his obligatory comment.

"Some of us believe in grooming and hygiene, Marco," Rachel huffed.

"Ok guys listen up. Last minute instructions," Jake said suddenly all business, "It's an hour ride to the airport, so you two should be fine. Objectives are to find out about Yeerk penetration in high government, assess whether there's a way to alert politicians about the threat, and get me enough notes for at least a B-. The goal is NOT to wreak havoc just because it's fun. Remember: low profile. Just use your common sense, please."

"Jake, we know all of this. You told us yesterday. And the day before. And the day before!" said Rachel. She was going to be in charge in Jake's absence. I think she was getting a little touchy about all the "don't go crazy" warnings.

(The schoolyard is starting to fill up. I think it's Go Time, you guys,) I said. The atmosphere was charged like before a battle. I knew logically that nothing might happen. It might be a totally mundane week with no Controllers and no close calls. But my gut told me otherwise. Our little group couldn't even handle a school dance without a major mishap. No wonder everyone was on edge. I fluttered down to the ground and started the morph.

Morphing Jake was no big deal for me. It was no different than my own human morph. He was bulkier and only slightly taller. Bad vision compared to a red-tail. No real instincts to speak of. Jake didn't even seem weirded out by the whole ordeal. After all, Ax had morphed him awhile ago.

Speaking of Ax, he was handling the process fine too. He wasn't even playing with sounds and nearly falling over as he often did when morphing a human.

"Interesting," he commented. He spoke with Cassie's gentle, mellow voice but the Andalite penchant for scientific candor still shone through. "There are no significant differences between male and female humans aside from some anatomical discrepancies. I believe Andalites show a greater degree of sexual dimorphism. Although, there is a searing pain in my left foot."

"Um, that's because you're standing on an anthill, Ax. Not because you're a girl," said Rachel. She was rummaging through one of the duffel bags Jake had brought. She dug out some jeans and a hoodie and threw them to Ax. He put them on over his morphing outfit. "Maybe we'll get a chance to go shopping on this trip," she said, eyeing him critically, "Those are the nicest clothes Cassie packed."

"He's fine, Rachel. Very Cassie-like," said Jake. She sighed and shook her head, sending waves down through her golden hair.

"I would have to be on a superhero team with the least fashion-forward people on the planet. Shopping: it's my gift and my curse," she said as she fixed "Cassie's" short hair with a couple of barrettes.

I picked up Jake's duffel and backpack and looked back at my double.

"Be careful with that body now," he said with a strained smile. I guess the weirdness _was _getting to him. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Seriously."

"Don't worry, Captain," said Marco, punching me cheerfully in the arm, "I'll take care of these crazy kids. Let's go get some education in DC! By God, I feel patriotic just thinking about it."

"We'll be fine, Jake," I said over my shoulder as we marched toward the school parking lot toward the fleet of yellow buses.

"Tell Cassie I hope she feels better!" called Rachel.

We stashed the luggage and climbed aboard. The bus was already half-full of chattering, excited high school kids. A pack of girls at the back went silent as I shuffled down the aisle.

"You can sit here, Jake!" called one of them. The rest of her gang giggled annoyingly. I vaguely recognized her as the girl who'd asked Ax to dance at last weekend's school dance before he'd completely freaked her out. _Oh great, _I thought. _This is wrong on so many levels. _

"Uhh, no I'll sit over here, thanks," I replied, sitting down next to Rachel.

"Haha, sit with your cousin who you barely talk to, Jake? Of course not!" said Marco through clenched teeth, "You'll sit next to me, your best friend."

Oops. Thirty seconds in and already problems. Maybe this would be a little more complicated than I thought.


	4. Super Spy

Author's note: Thanks for the reviews! I'll try to update more often.

**Marco**

What would these kids do without me? Honestly.

Ok, the assistant principal probably wouldn't rain Hork-Bajir on us if Tobias sat next to Rachel or because Ax shouted a very enthusiastic "HERE!" right in Chapman's ear during roll call. But enough little mistakes like that and we really would be in trouble. Which is why even though Jake appointed Rachel the boss for the week, he had pulled me aside yesterday and asked me to keep an extra eye out.

I would've done that anyway.

But my powers of observation and intense paranoia are not the only skills I lend to our little group. I'm also the only one with a functioning sense of humor. For example, as I dozed with my head banging against the rattling bus window, I thought about how much more potentially twisted this situation could become.

Tobias liked Rachel but looked like her cousin Jake. The real Jake liked Cassie, but Cassie was Ax, who was really, by some bizarre trick of fate, Jake's…I mean Tobias' uncle, so…_This whole group is too incestuous _I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

Periodically I opened my eyes whenever the bus' crappy shocks hit the smallest dip in the highway. Tobias sat on the very edge of the seat, darting nervous looks around the bus every two seconds. Ax, sitting across the aisle from us with Rachel, was plowing through someone's civics textbook. It looked like he'd read 300 pages in half an hour. Rachel was turned around backwards talking to Melissa Chapman and some other girl.

A particularly big bump jolted me awake for good. Tobias startled from the impact.

"Dude, you _have _to calm down," I yawned at him, "you'll give yourself a heart attack."

"I'm not used to this," he replied through clenched teeth, "feels like when I was sick and I had to stay in a cage in Cassie's barn for a week."

"Yeah well, consider it practice for the plane. Five hour ride, man."

"At least we'll be in the air." He relaxed maybe one iota.

I annoyed all the girls around us for good measure and slumped back in the seat. I was bored. Just then a hushed conversation between the teachers made me perk up my ears. Nothing attracts a kid's attention more than chaperones trying to keep a secret. I scrambled over Bird-boy and crept along the aisle. Turns out it's a lot harder to be stealthy without morphing. I slipped into the empty seat behind Chapman and Mr. Reynolds.

"I just do not understand why the Visser would waste such resources on a bunch of children," Mr. Reynolds was saying.

"Actually, this was my proposal Quiriss. The Visser, though a…ahem…brilliant strategist, is not in the habit of thinking in the long term. These young people will graduate from this school soon and scatter to universities across the nation. If they are all infested, they can recruit other students and academics. It is a way to spread quickly through elite, young society," said Chapman.

"Yes, but why not simply call an assembly? Why transport these hosts across the country?"

"Surely you must know how difficult it is to contain even a dozen adolescents. As a teacher of almost two decades, my host has observed their ability to escape adult supervision and subsequently gossip uncontrollably."

"I see. And you believe we will have more control in an obscure location far from these hosts' families."

"Exactly," finished Chapman.

"What about your hosts' daughter? Do you intend to continue to spare her?"

"She is already taken."

From my position behind them, my mind raced. Infest our whole class? Could they really get away with that? A mass infestation would have to be a logistical nightmare, but with all of us contained like this it might be possible. I crawled out into the aisle again to get back to my seat. I had to tell Rachel and the others. Maybe someone could call Jake—

"What are you doing down there, young man?" said a voice behind me.

I stood up fast and came face to face with Assistant Principal Chapman. I thought fast.

"I lost a contact, sir!" I practically shouted. I could almost see the wheels in his head turning. I needed a distraction, quick.

Luckily, Rachel or must have heard me.

"Oh my God, Drake! I can't believe you're smoking on the bus!" She yelled, pointing toward a group of guys at the back. Chapman immediately forgot about me and charged at them. I slinked over to my place next to Tobias. I knew a week away from school was too good to be true.


	5. A Million Things to Do

**Jake**

I hiked through the woods after watching the yellow buses pull away. I hoped everything would go smoothly, but I found I can never afford to be too optimistic. Not that I didn't trust my friends to do the right and necessary things. It's just that, as much as I hate to admit it, I knew their strengths and weaknesses and how to exploit them. I knew Rachel would always choose the direct, violent option. I knew Marco would argue just to be contrary, but would do what had to be done in the end. I knew Tobias would sometimes do stupidly courageous things either to impress Rachel or to overcompensate for being a casualty. I knew Ax would follow every order to the letter yet have enough mental flexibility to know just when to jump in and save the day. But I also knew he could be a liability in human morph.

And I knew Cassie would always offset me when I thought I knew everything about these people.

Cassie. I should go see her. It's not like I had anything else to do this week. My parents thought I would be at school. The school thought I'd be on the field trip, so it was just a matter of ditching class for a week. Another talent I'd gotten really good at since that night at the construction site.

I morphed to peregrine falcon and took off for Cassie's farm. Her mom was at work and her dad would be out in the barn, so I flapped straight for the house. She had left her windows open. I fluttered in and demorphed. Only after I was human again did I notice she was fast asleep. I knew how hard it was to sleep with this disease, having just gotten over it myself. I turned toward the door to leave, but stopped.

She really was beautiful. She didn't think she was, and most people would say Rachel was prettier. She didn't care about clothes and makeup. She was naturally a nice person; not all fake like some people. She sort of…shined from within. I knew it sounded saccharine. What I'd have to endure if Marco ever heard me saying these things… But Cassie and I, well we'd been through a lot together.

I realized I was just standing there watching her sleep. Ugh, creepy. Time to go. I should be following Tom or tracking Visser Three or checking up on Marco and the others. Why had I even come here? There were a million things I could be doing.

As I turned to go, she stirred and coughed a little.

"Jake?" she said groggily.

"Yeah, Cass," I answered.

"I feel awful."

"Yeah." _Such excellent conversation skills, Jake,_ I chided myself, "Anyway, I'll let you sleep."

"No, stay here." She weakly grabbed for my hand. I sat down on the bed and put my arm around her. She rested her head on my chest. It was still burning hot.

I sighed and settled in. Maybe Tom and Visser Three and the Animorphs could wait for a little while.

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**Author's Note: Ok, a mushy J/C interlude. Back to the action soon, I promise. I just couldn't resist.**


	6. PDA

Author's Note: I always have trouble writing Ax chapters.

**Ax**

The yellow vehicle arrived at the airport when Tobias and I had twenty-one percent of our morph time remaining. Marco had something important to tell us, but I had to find a secure area to demorph and remorph first. Rachel led me into a place called The Ladies Room. I cannot say much for the aesthetic qualities of the place, but it did indeed seem popular with female humans. Cassie's few instincts did not give me any insight. I resolved to ask Rachel about it later.

I demorphed in the largest of the several stalls and enjoyed a brief minute in my own Andalite body. I had no doubts about my ability to remain in human form for six Earth days, but one heart, two legs, two eyes, no tail, and no fur—it was different, to say the least. I do not know how my brother endured.

As soon as Rachel and I emerged, Marco and Tobias motioned us to join them behind a large artificial plant. The rest of the school group rested in a large corridor full of rows and rows of chairs. A loud, disembodied voice sporadically announced the arrival, boarding, and departure of aircraft. All around us humans rushed by toting large, wheeled boxes. Stations for food purchase dotted the interior. I had been in an airport before, but had not had the opportunity to absorb the experience. There was no trace of the order and method that marked a comparable Andalite facility. It was overwhelming.

I tried to concentrate on Marco's words. Of course I immediately understood the urgency and implications of the conversation he overheard. A mass infestation on the scale Chapman intended would be disastrous for our meager resistance. Rachel, Marco, Prince Jake, and Cassie could not remain uninfested if all of their peers were taken, not to mention the numerous other effects such an action would cause. I said as much to my friends.

"Well yeah, we obviously can't let them go through with this," said Tobias, looking and sounding exactly like Prince Jake.

"Yeah. The only question is how do we stop it?" said Marco.

"Easy," said Rachel, "we break this operation up right now. We can't let Chapman and his cronies ship our class off to some Yeerk compound in the Rockies or wherever. We go battle morph right here in the airport and raise hell. They'd have to cancel the field trip after something like that."

"Way to stick to the low-profile plan," scoffed Marco.

"There is a complication in your strategy, Rachel. I have noticed dozens of uniformed humans carrying firearms in this facility. They might be able to subdue four wild animals loose in an enclosed area," I pointed out.

"Psshh, I doubt post-9/11 airport security could take us down," Rachel retorted with a dismissive noise, "the Yeerks have been trying for years."

"No, no, no. You're all missing the bigger picture. If Chapman and Reynolds have a big infestation station in the country somewhere, _that _should be our target. Attack that and we stop them from ever trying this again," Marco stated.

We all pondered this for a minute. It was clearly the best course of action.

"OK," said Rachel finally, "So we board the plane and smash up the place when we get there."

"Eloquent," quipped Marco, "You should go out for debate."

"I _am_ a lawyer's daughter," she replied.

"Should we notify Prince Jake?" I wondered. In my highly limited peripheral vision, I noticed we had attracted the attention of one of the adult chaperones. A severe-looking older woman rapidly approached our concealed location. I tried to convey this to the others, but Rachel was talking.

"I'll call him," said Rachel, "although I don't know what he'll be able to do about it. We don't even know where we're going."

"You four! What are you doing back here?" the woman said in a loud voice. Adrenaline flooded my system. I had experienced it before when I attended a partial day of school with Prince Jake. My hands made fists, and my leg muscles tensed to either fight or run away. Luckily my friends had more experience with the human reactions to this hormone and were able to answer the teacher without fleeing or fighting.

"Hi Mrs. Cobb, we were just…talking," said Marco. The chaperone looked unconvinced. She fixed a suspicious gaze on each of us. Apparently Marco's powers of improvisation had failed him.

(Same as the bus,) Tobias said quickly in thoughtspeak, (We need a distraction. A big one!)

In one swift movement Marco grabbed Rachel's shoulders and placed his pursed lips on hers. As inexperienced as I am in the nuances of human kissing, even I could see how awkward this action was. Rachel stiffened her muscles and opened her eyes wide. Tobias was not happy either.

"You caught us, Mrs. Cobb! It's a makeout session back here. Sorry. I can't control the effect I have on her," Marco said, gesturing toward the still-stunned but extremely angry Rachel, "I just radiate testosterone, you know."

The woman inhaled sharply. She delivered a stern lecture and said she would "write us up for PDA." As she walked away, she ordered us to rejoin the group.

Once she was out of hearing range, Rachel and Tobias turned toward Marco.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" Rachel yelled, infuriated. I wondered if the red color in her face resulted from some physiological reaction to anger or whether it was a voluntary effect. I was about to ask when Marco interrupted her ranting.

"Wait wait wait! Before you both beat me to a pulp, can I just point out it worked? And it couldn't've been anyone else! I'm not about to kiss Ax—no offence, man," he said, addressing the last part to me, "And at least you're not getting a PDA detention for kissing your own cousin! Right? Right?"

This mollified the other two somewhat. Rachel was clearly still angry, though at least Marco seemed to be out of immediate physical danger. The four of us walked toward the rows of plastic chairs. We sat in silence for a few minutes, but I grew restless. I spied an eatery of some type. Rachel offered to accompany me to purchase, at her insistence, _moderate_ amounts of delicious food.

"What is PDA?" I asked her as we took cinnamon buns and soda back to the gate.

"It stands for Public Display of Affection," she answered, which only raised more questions.

My new questions had to wait, as it turned out. Our plane was boarding, and the attendants had already called Rachel and Tobias' row. As she passed Marco, Rachel cuffed him on the side of his face.

"Oh Marco, you should really try to control this effect you have on me," she snapped, as she disappeared down a tunnel-like structure.

Marco smirked and picked up his backpack. "Women, Ax," he said to me, rolling his eyes. The two of us and a multitude of other people handed over our boarding passes and prepared to board the aircraft.

I sensed that interpersonal relationships had returned to normal. Sometimes I think I will never understand humans even if I am stuck here on Earth for two thousand years.


	7. The Waiting Game

Author's Note: Much like Cassie in my story, first my whole family got sick, and now I am. Life imitates art, huh?

**Rachel**

It was only after we boarded the plane that I noticed our class plus the chaperones were the only people on the whole flight. If I hadn't known what was about to happen, it wouldn't have seemed suspicious. After all, there were more than a hundred of us. Chapman and a bunch of teachers took up all of first class. Because we were seated alphabetically, Tobias and I sat next to each other up near the bulkhead. Marco had somehow schemed and traded his way into an exit row seat next to Ax. Tobias and Ax could talk to each other through thoughtspeak, which was lucky. There was no other way we could communicate on a crowded plane.

I felt the familiar thrill of impending battle as I settled into my seat. This was going to be unlike most of our missions. There was no way to plan. No way to know who or what the target would be. No Jake or Cassie. We'd have to act on spur of the moment, with a lot of improvisation. Which was fine. It's not like any of our plans _ever _worked out the way we thought they would, even in the best of circumstances.

"Did you call Jake?" Tobias asked me.

"No, I forgot in all the crap with Marco. I'll do it now."

I whipped out my cell, but got his voice mail right away. Of all the times to turn off the phone.

"Hey Jake it's me. I was just wondering where you wanted to meet up once we got to—" Suddenly a rough, hairy hand tore the phone out of my grip. I looked up ready to curse out a complaint, but Chapman's Controller face stared down at me from the aisle.

"No cell phones allowed in school, Rachel," he said sternly. I was about to say something to the effect of "we're not _in _school are we, alien slug," but I held my tongue. He glared at Tobias who was staring out the window.

"Why were you calling Jake? He's right next to you," he stated skeptically.

"Different Jake," I said in a "duh" voice. I also rolled my eyes and flipped my hair over my shoulder. Nothing proves you're a typical teenager like copping an attitude. He was about to reprimand me for being disrespectful when the flight attendants told him to take a seat.

"You'll get this back at the end of the week young lady," he said, pocketing my cell phone. As soon as he turned his back, I gave him the finger. _You'll pay for that,_ I thought to myself.

"Very mature," Tobias said with a wry smile, "but good save."

"Yeah well there goes our only way of contacting Jake and Cassie. I'll steal it back from him when I trample him into the ground later. In the meantime, we need to be on alert here. We've got to assume we're not really going to DC. Some of the teachers and kids are Controllers, but not all. Most of them must still be free if they're risking hijacking a plane," I said. I was just thinking out loud, but Tobias was nodding. "Run all that by Marco and Ax and see what they say," I finished.

I sat back while he translated into thoughtspeak. The plane trundled down the runway and lurched into the air. I'm not afraid of flying, but after being an eagle and a fly, it always amazes me these things ever get airborne.

"Marco says probably all the chaperones are Controllers and maybe the pilots too. There's really nothing we can do until they tip their hand. We'll just have to be ready," Tobias said after awhile.

Great. The sit-and-wait plan. My least favorite.

"Well keep an eye out the window. See if you can figure out where we're going," I said, just to be proactive.

He nodded and turned back toward the window. We rode for several hours in silence. I spent the time burning a hole through the curtain that separated first class and coach with my eyes. I tried to work out ways to morph and attack the chaperones without anyone else on the plane seeing me. It was no good. Tobias got up to demorph and remorph. I knew he must be stressed being in such a claustrophobic space and unable to return to his hawk form. It was probably stupid of me to worry about him so much. I don't know anyone tougher than Tobias. I don't know if I'd have the strength to choose to keep the life he lives. I guess he just feels the fight is too important. I understand that. It bothers me sometimes, but I understand it.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it any longer, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we regret to inform you that due to poor weather in the Washington DC area, you will have to deplane in Stewart, New York. We will have more details once we land. Thank you and again, we apologize for this inconvenience."

Tobias and I exchanged glances.

"What do you think? Are we really in New York?" I asked him. I figured he was used to seeing geography from the air.

"I have no idea. We've flown over a lot of forest and farmland. Now we're somewhere with mountains and a river and more forest. It's getting dark, and there aren't any cities or even towns around. We could be practically anywhere. Where is Stewart?"

"Search me. It probably isn't even a real town." I could feel my ears start to pop. We were beginning our decent. Finally, time to _do _something. "Ok, tell Marco and Ax to get ready to morph as soon as we get off the plane. We can't give Chapman and his henchmen any time to act. We'll take them out, try to round up our classmates, and head for civilization."

He nodded and relayed the plan—if you could really call it a plan. The Controllers would definitely have the advantage here. Wherever "here" was. The plane touched down in what seemed like total darkness. When I fly back and forth between home and my dad's house, the airports are always in big cities; the lights blot out the stars and cast an orange haze on the sky. As I leaned over Tobias to look out the window, I could make out trees and a strip of landing lights in the dusk. The five hour flight was actually eight thanks to the time difference. If we really were in New York, it was about 8pm.

After we touched down and rolled to a stop, Chapman came back into the coach cabin.

"Ok, settle down, SETTLE DOWN," he shouted. Why do teachers always start that way even if no one's causing trouble? "We are on the tarmac, so you all need to disembark in an _orderly and quiet _manner, pick up your luggage, and meet in the airport terminal. Follow the chaperones and use caution. This area is poorly lit. Now: some announcements. The airline will be putting us up in lodgings for tonight. You will stay with your assigned roommates. We will leave for the capital at 7am tomorrow morning, so _no horsing around. _That is all."

He retreated back to first class, and the aisle filled with people. Marco shouldered his way up to the front, dragging Ax in his wake.

"How much you wanna bet they grab us as soon as we get off the plane?" he said.

"I would bet many dollars," Ax volunteered. "We must not allow them to enclose all of these people in one place."

"Ok," I said, "Once we get on the ground, head for the woods. We'll morph and double back for the tarmac. It'll seem like 'Andalites' just came out of the woods in the confusion, and no one will notice we're not there."

I thought it sounded like a great plan. Save the class, take out a dozen Controllers, and destroy a Yeerk processing center in the middle of nowhere. As Marco would say, what could possibly go wrong?


	8. Dances with Wolves

Author's note: I didn't mean to do the "two Rachel chapters in a row" thing again. It just worked out that way.

**Rachel**

By the time we shuffled off the plane, it was pitch-dark outside. We had no trouble fading into the darkness in the confusion of people disembarking and hunting for their luggage on the tarmac. We were about a hundred yards away with only some tall grass for cover, but the lack of lights completely obscured us from view.

"Let's do it," I said. It's sort of my trademark. I began to morph to grizzly, but Marco stopped me.

"No Rachel. You can barely see in that morph. How're you going to tell people apart? I say we go wolf," he suggested.

I hated to give up my most powerful morph almost as much as I hated to admit Marco was right. We all went wolf and tracked back toward the group.

(Hey, you guys getting a whiff of this?) said Tobias, (I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like I've smelled it before.)

With my heightened sense of smell, I detected a semi-familiar scent. Oily, sort of grungy-industrial but with a tinge of something unearthly. Ax figured it out first.

(Yeerk Pool. They must intend on infesting your peers presently in this airport facility,) he said.

(Then let's go fast. It looks like everyone's off the plane already,) I said.

We barreled through the darkness, covering the distance in seconds. My sense of smell plus excellent night vision cut through the darkness like it was noon.

Chapman and the other teachers were trying to divide the class into groups. I aimed right for the assistant principal, charging through the pack of my classmates. Right away the screaming started. I lunged for Chapman and clamped onto his arm.

"Andalite!" he hissed as I knocked him to the ground. Already kids were running in random directions while we took out the chaperones.

(We have to keep the kids together! Someone herd them towards the woods!) I yelled. Chapman had pulled a Dracon beam out of somewhere. A bright red flash temporarily blinded me, and I felt a burn tear up my left side. I bit down harder and felt his arm bones crush. All around me kids were screaming and running. Pure pandemonium. All of a sudden someone kicked me in the ribcage. I kept my jaws clamped, but my body pivoted, rolling Chapman on top of me. The Dracon beam flew through the air and disappeared into the darkness. I worried his broken arm, shaking him to the ground in a fit of pain.

(Rachel where are you? We've got most of the people running in a group in the woods!) Marco yelled from far away.

Through the mess of arms, legs, and paws, I saw Melissa standing over us.

"Freeze, Andalite," she said coldly. Once I stopped thrashing her father, I could see she held a Dracon beam of her own. The shock, more than her threat, made me finally open my jaws. Melissa had been taken? When? Why didn't I know? All this time I'd been extra nice to her at school because of her father. We used to be best friends. My mind raced. Had I ever said anything to betray myself or the other Animorphs? No. No, I couldn't have. And she wasn't my friend. Not anymore.

"Now demorph. I'll give you ten seconds."

I snapped back to reality. The tarmac was almost deserted now. All the chaperones plus the kids who were already Controllers had run inside the airport building. Everyone else was running scared deep in the woods, chased to safety by my friends. Could I make a run for it? Or should I take her down? How good was her night vision? Not as good as mine. She was counting down. Chapman lay between us, incapacitated. I just stood there, growling.

"Three…two….on—" Suddenly she pitched forward. Out of nowhere another wolf tackled her from behind.

(Run!) yelled Tobias. He didn't have to ask twice. The two of us hauled tail towards the wooded mountains. A few seconds later Dracon beams sliced through the air, missing by millimeters. Apparently her night vision was ok after all. We ran and ran, but the human Controller couldn't give chase.

After awhile we met up with Marco, Ax, and the class. We demorphed and approached the panicky, exhausted group in a clearing surrounded by pine trees. Some people were crying. Others were trying to get signals on their phones. Some had escaped with their backpacks and were sharing candy bars and snack food. Everyone was too shocked to do anything.

I plopped down next to Ax, in his Cassie form once more.

"Well, that was pretty successful," I said, still a little jazzed from the fight. "We saved the class."

"Yeah, Xena, but that was only half the goal," said Marco wearily. "We were supposed to destroy that compound too. And how the hell are we going to lead dozens of scared kids out of these woods? And where would we even go?"

I had been riding the high of a successful skirmish, but suddenly I came crashing down. This is where Jake would've stepped in and told us the plan. This is where I could relax and just take orders.

But Jake wasn't here. And I had no idea what to do next.


	9. Things We Never Get To Say

**Tobias**

I demorphed and flew above the treetops to see if I could get a handle on where we were. My night vision very good, but I could make out major landmarks. The full moon cast just enough light to outline the others and the class below me. Forest extended north and west for as far as I could see. To the east a low mountain blocked the river I'd seen when we landed from sight. If we really were in New York, that river should run south all the way to New York City. In the distance to the south I could see lights. I flapped hard in the still night air, trying to see the river over the hills. Where there was water, there were usually towns. But the air just wasn't good for altitude. I drifted back down to the ground.

(There's a town maybe 50 miles to the south, but there might be something closer over these mountains. I'll have to wait until morning to check it out though,) I told Rachel and Marco. Ax had demorphed and was staying out of sight of the class.

Marco sighed and stood up. "Ok we're going to have to lead these people back to civilization. Then we'll come back and clean up that infestation compound."

(Maybe we should split up. Two of us lead the class, two take the compound.) I suggested.

"I can take the compound myself," Rachel said. "How bad could it be? It's probably just Chapman and his teacher goons."

"Sure Rachel, go kick butt against a dozen Controllers with Dracon beams. How do you know there isn't a platoon of Hork-Bajir in that building? Besides, you think Chapman's going to watch his big shot at Yeerk glory escape into the woods? He's probably organizing a search right now," Marco said.

"I could still take them," Rachel said sullenly. "Fine. How 'bout this: two of us lead the class, the other two check out the compound, trip up Chapman's search effort, and do some reconnaissance. Then, once the class is safe, we all four come back and trample this place into the ground."

"How did this field trip go to hell so quickly?" Marco moaned. "Why can't anything EVER go the way it's supposed to?"

"Oh like you were really looking forward to a week-long civics lesson," Rachel snapped. "Are we doing this my way or not?"

(Sounds ok to me,) I said, (No one will miss you guys and Jake and Cassie in all the confusion.)

"Tell Ax and see what he thinks."

(He says he'll do whatever Rachel decides,) I said after translating into thoughtspeak. Thoughtspeak has a farther range than regular talking. Ax was running through the woods, crushing plants for food.

"I'm not Prince Rachel?" she responded with a smile.

(Guess not.)

"That's alright. I'm definitely not the princess type."

"No, you're the warrior-princess type. Now let's get going on this insane plan," Marco said.

In the end we decided Rachel and I would stop the Yeerk search, and Marco and Ax would lead the class to the closest town.

"Ok, great," Marco griped as we prepared to split ways, "How am I supposed to get these people to follow me?"

"Just use your legendary charisma," Rachel said as she started to morph back to wolf.

"If this turns into a Donner party situation, I'm blaming you," said Marco.

"They'd probably eat you first just to shut you up," Rachel retorted. "Which way are you going to head?"

"Toward the town in to the South tonight, and in the morning we'll check to see if there's anything closer over the mountain," he called over his shoulder as he headed back toward the group.

(Fight well, Rachel and Tobias,) Ax said, in Cassie form once more. He followed Marco and turned his back to us.

(Good luck,) I called to them.

(Ready?) I asked Rachel.

(Ready,) she answered, fully wolf. (Let's go kick Yeerk ass.)

We took off through the woods. Rachel ran and I flew without talking for a few minutes. She's not the most open person in the world, but she'll usually talk to me. I gave up and broke the silence.

(I actually was looking forward to this week,) I said.

(Yeah, me too.)

(Really? Civics paper and all?)

(Well yeah, Tobias. We don't exactly get a lot of quality time, if you haven't noticed,) she sighed. (It's always one thing or another.)

I had nothing to say to that. I didn't want this to break down into our same stupid fight about me staying human, but she clearly had something on her mind. We went on in silence for awhile longer.

(You know, we could get killed,) she spoke up suddenly. (Anytime. One of us could just get shot and die. How many close calls have we had? And it's not just the Yeerks. Every time we morph…) she trailed off.

(You're not scared,) I said. It wasn't a question. I just knew she wasn't scared. This kind of talk was very unlike her.

(No. I'm just saying. What if there are things we never get to say? Never get to do?)

What the hell was she talking about? The Rachel I knew said and did pretty much whatever she wanted.

(I guess you just have to live each day,) I said, (and accept the risks and deal with the dangerous stuff as best you can. Like any person, really.)

We arrived back at the airstrip. Rachel stopped and sat down, barely panting. Wolves can run forever. I alighted on a rotting log next to her. She demorphed and gave the building an appraising look.

"Well, time to go accept some risks," she said. I took to the air and circled around. Floodlights illuminated a parking lot holding half a dozen ATVs. I relayed the info back to Rachel.

(No Controllers in sight and no other vehicles,) I finished.

(Great, let's start by taking out those ATVs then,) she said. She had morphed a grizzly. One of her favorites. (Let's do it!)

She stepped into the lighted area while I landed in order to morph to something more destructive. I decided on Hork-Bajir. Nothing could slash tires like the 8-foot-tall bladed reptile-like aliens. I hadn't even lost my feathers when

_Wheeeeeeeet! Wheeeeeeet! Wheeeeet!_

Alarm! I heard Rachel roar in frustration.

(Tobias, I'm trapped! There's a force field around me, and I can't get out!)

I watched in helpless horror as Melissa Chapman sauntered out into the yard, causually stunned the bear with a Dracon beam, and ordered the teachers to drag her inside. Rachel disappeared inside the complex.

(Rachel! I'll get you out of there!) I yelled. The only question was how?

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**Author's Note: **Let me know if you think this is going downhill. I know where I want this story to go; it's just a matter of getting there. And thanks for the reviews!


	10. Watch and Learn

**Marco**

Ax and I walked back toward the mass of kids. I hadn't realized before now how panicked most of my classmates were. A lot of people were crying. Someone was trying to start a campfire. Most had given up on the cell phones. Some had broken up into their cliques from school. A few just sat despondently on the ground. It was completely dark out except for the light coming from the half-moon.

"Marco, how are we going to convince your peers to follow us? I have observed the types of humans your people choose as leaders, and neither you nor Cassie fit the typical description," said Ax.

Ok, I know I'm short, but c'mon! I don't need an alien who goes to pieces at the sight of a Cinnabon telling me that.

"Watch and learn, Ax-man. I can lead like the best of them," said jumping up on a tree stump.

"Yo! Listen up people! There's a town fifty miles to the south of here. I vote we head for that. Tonight."

About ten kids looked in my direction.

"Shut up, Marco," muttered Adel, this kid from my calculus class.

"No seriously! We could walk it in a few days," I tried again.

"How the hell do you know where there's a town in this God-forsaken place?" yelled someone from the darkness.

Hmm. Good point.

"I saw it when we landed!" I countered. Brilliant. But at least people were listening to me now.

"Whatever, dude. We're not in the mood for your lame jokes," Adel said. Some people muttered their agreement, and he turned back to his circle of friends. I sat down on the stump a little crestfallen. _Lame?_ My jokes are NOT lame. Ignore my wilderness advice if you want, but don't insult my comedy. Ax walked over.

"That did not appear to be effective," he said in his annoyingly straightforward way.

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed." Ok, this was no good. I should have thought this through. _I _wouldn't listen to someone my own age. Except Jake. Ax had his Jake morph, but he could never pull off his personality. We needed some kind of uniting figure. Someone people could really get behind. Suddenly it hit me.

"Ok, Ax. New plan. Just play along." I ducked back out of sight in the woods and morphed an Irish setter. Jake and I used dog morphs to sneak into an outdoor concert once. I was even more of a chick magnet than usual, and where chicks go, the guys will follow.

I bounded out of the woods barking and leaping like a happy, fun-loving idiot. That's all dogs are, really: goofballs who want to play all the time. A few kids jumped up startled. I guess they were still wary about the wolf ordeal from earlier. I barked and jumped in a circle. I reared up on my hind legs and leg my tongue loll out of my mouth. I was the cutest, happiest, cheeriest thing on four legs. No way could they resist. And sure enough, my classmates came toward me with "aw, what a cute doggy!" faces.

Soon I was surrounded by adoring fans. Girls who wouldn't look my way at school were rubbing my belly.

(Marco, I do not understand this plan so far,) Ax said in my head.

(Watch and learn, Ax-man.)

(You said that before,) he pointed out.

I was waiting for someone to put two and two together. Where there are dogs as gorgeous as me, there are people. Where there are people, there are houses and towns and phones. But no one was getting it—just tons of "good dog!" and "aw, he's a sweetie!"

(Maybe he belongs to someone!) I broadcasted in thoughtspeak. In all the talking and darkness, no one would realize they hadn't actually "heard" it.

"Yeah!" said some girl. I squinted at her with my poor dog eyes. I vaguely recognized her as Meghan, captain of the girls' lacrosse team. Good, one of those straight-As, popular, leadership types. "Maybe he can lead us out of here!"

Bingo! I barked and yipped and danced around. I ran a few yards away and turned back to face them. _New game! _said the dog in me. Everyone got up and started to follow. _Follow the leader! _I took off into the woods. A rabbit! I definitely smelled and heard a rabbit. I bounded away, leaving the people in the dust. I'd take them to the rabbit later. This is what my breed was built for!

(Marco! That direction is not south, and some of the slower humans cannot maintain your speed,) Ax yelled.

Whoa. I halted and got control. The dog had taken over. So embarrassing. And I'd done this morph before.

(I _know_, I was just…) Ah screw it. I could swallow my pride this once. (Ok, Ax, which way's south?)

(Watch and learn,) he replied.

Wow, if that had made sense, it almost would have been a joke.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Ok, I had a LOT of trouble writing this chapter.

**Jake**

_Bang Bang Bang_

I woke up with a jolt. Yeerks! No wait. Someone knocking on a door. Next to me, Cassie sighed and rolled over, muttering in her fever-addled dreams. I must have fallen asleep at Cassie's house. What time was it?

"Cassie? You decent?"

Crap! Cassie's dad! I did not want to have to explain why I was in her bed. Time to go _now. _I jumped up and scrambled for the window, knocking over her nightstand along the way.

"You ok, Cass?" her dad said at the sound of the crash. I heard the door start to creak open. No time to morph! I dived for the window and...

_Whack!_

…landed in the bushes two stories below. "Oww," I moaned to myself quietly. Cassie's dad popped his head out the window and scanned the yard. I kept my head down until he went back inside. _As if Yeerks weren't enough to worry about, _I complained to myself as I limped away. Just scratches and bruises, luckily. I morphed my falcon and flew home. I had a few hours before Tom and my parents got back, so I figured I'd call and check in on Rachel and the others.

I grabbed a sandwich from the 'fridge and searched my room for my cell phone. My dad had gotten me one for my last birthday. It was supposed to be for emergencies only. Ha. If only he knew how many emergencies I faced on a weekly basis. There was a missed call. I listened to the message. It started as Rachel, but then I could hear her arguing with someone. An adult man, by the sound of it. Chapman, maybe?

I tried calling her back, but she wasn't answering. A pang of concern shot through me. I considered asking Erek King if he could track down where the cell phone was but thought better of it. Rachel would call again if they were really in trouble. I heard the front door slam downstairs. Weird. Tom wasn't supposed to be back yet. I walked silently to the top of the stairs. If it was Tom, I wanted to spy on him. If it was my parents, I was supposed to be in school still.

I heard Tom talking in the kitchen. "Yes sir, I understand completely," he said.

Someone male responded in a low voice. It just sounded like mumbling from where I was. I risked moving down the stairs. There wasn't time to morph, and I didn't want to miss anything. I edged along the wall until I was just outside the kitchen doorway.

"Just be sure that it is done. The authorization for this nonsense has been revoked by the Visser," the unknown man said.

"Of course. What would we want with a bunch of snotty children?" said Tom.

"The potential hosts have nothing to do with it. Chapman is an ambitious idiot looking to show off for the Counsel. Such a mass infestation is almost certain to fail. There are countless unknowns: Visser One and her traitorous followers, the Andalite bandits, Chapman's incompetence. The Visser cannot allow this while the Counsel members are here. Just take care of the whole group."

"Even the students? There will be questions…" Tom said.

"That is not my problem or yours."

"Isn't it? If the Visser is prepared to sacrifice even Chapman, who knows who might be next?"

The voices were getting louder as Tom and the guy walked closer to me. I dashed away as stealthily as I could. From behind a potted plant at the top of the stairs I saw the man. I tried to make a mental picture of him so I could remember him as a known Controller later, but he was pretty nondescript. Sort of tall, brown hair, suit and briefcase. Everything about him screamed "average."

"You understand that if you cannot handle this situation, the Visser will get involved personally. You do not want to take him away from chauffeuring the Counsel members around our facilities," he said. He turned and walked out the door without allowing Tom to answer.

I slinked back to my room to digest this new information. Obviously this was why Rachel called. Now Tom was involved, but what was my plan here? If I stopped Tom, Chapman might infest my friends, and my brother might be killed for failing in his mission. If I didn't stop him, Chapman and the whole class might die. There was no telling what would happen in any contingency. I sighed and reached for my jacket. This was a situation I'd been in too many times. Every victory for us put Tom at risk. Every Controller we killed was someone's son or daughter dead.

I shook off my morbid thoughts and headed for Erek's house. A quick check with the android confirmed my suspicions—they weren't in DC. But I couldn't go charging off across the country to the middle of nowhere. First, I wasn't even sure they needed my help. And then there was Visser Three. If he was entertaining Yeerk VIPs here at home, that was a huge opportunity. I realized I'd come to a stop on the sidewalk. My head was spinning. So many weights and balances. I suddenly felt very alone without my friends here. Finally I made a decision.

A couple of morphs and a fast flight later, and I was standing on Cassie's porch. Better to go through the front door this time. I rang the doorbell.

"Hello Jake," Cassie's dad said ominously. He opened the screen door. Was it my imagination or was he giving me the evil eye?

"Hi sir," I mumbled. Gulp. Suddenly facing Tom, Visser Three, Chapman, and the entire Council of Thirteen didn't seem so scary.


	12. Bad News Bears

Author's note: After a long hiatus, I decided to try and pick this story up again.

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**Rachel**

I came to still in my grizzly morph with no idea how long I'd been unconscious. I was alone in what looked like an enormous pet carrier. It was a large, rectangular box, seemingly made of cheap plastic. _Even Chapman can't be _that _stupid, _I thought to myself. One swipe at a wall of my prison confirmed that thought. My razor-sharp claws didn't even leave a scratch. There were air holes in the crate. Surely they were protected by some kind of alien force field? But no, I stuck one claw right through one. I looked at the room beyond through one of the circular air holes. Fluorescent lights cast a sickly green glow on a dirty linoleum floor and white cinderblock walls. The room had an institutional feel, like the school cafeteria. To my left a metal desk sat in one corner, gathering rust. To my right was a steel door. There were no surveillance cameras I could see. Maybe I could just morph something small and—

The door swung open, and in walked my best friend since second grade. Or at least, she used to be. Melissa and I had grown steadily apart since middle school. These days she was always busy with yearbook and photography club, and I…well nothing eats up your spare time like saving the world from an alien invasion. Apparently Melissa had gotten into other extracurricular activities too.

"I won't insult your intelligence by telling you to demorph or die," the Controller said to me. She circled my box.

"Ultimatums so rarely work in these situations. You can just rot in there until you're stuck as a bear forever. Your little friends will come charging in to save the day, of course, but I'll take them too." She continued to rattle away with typical Yeerk arrogance about how the situation would unfold. I guess Yeerks don't get a lot of socializing time because she would not shut up. I tuned her out and tried to think about escape. It seemed like it should be ridiculously easy. I hoped Tobias wouldn't bother trying to save me. I could be out of here in ten minutes.

At least, that's what I thought until I tuned back into Melissa's endless monologue.

"…because we both know, don't we, that you're just a human. And only 17 years old at most. I can't _believe _the Visser hasn't caught on by now!"

I stopped probing the air holes and sat down hard. My old schoolmate noticed.

"Oh yes, I know your little secret kid. Did you think this whole charade was really about infesting your whole stupid class? Of course, that's what I had to tell the Visser and the others. Not that they could be bothered to spare any competent personnel for this farce. I spent weeks convincing daddy Chapman this was a good idea. And I couldn't tell any of them what I know. Those who even suggest the Visser's precious 'Andalite Bandits' aren't really Andalites end their careers as Taxxon food, especially lowly triple-digits like me. I wouldn't be surprised if Chapman told everyone this was _his _idea." She grumbled that last part mostly under her breath.

No wonder she was chatty. This Yeerk had delusions of grandeur. We'd found out from several of our missions that low-ranking Yeerks tend to be a little unscrewed. All that pent-up ambition and no place to go. And the Yeerk military doesn't have any worker appreciation days, I guess.

"A few dozen new hosts is just a bonus." She stopped finally and stared at me. Trying to read my reaction. _Stupid nutcase_, I thought to myself. Hadn't she ever seen James Bond? Villains should never reveal their evil plans.

My mind raced. How much did Melissa really know? Did it matter? As long as the Visser was in charge, no one could question his beliefs and opinions. Initiative was not a prized quality among his employees, we'd noticed. But if Melissa was using this little posse of Yeerks to get proof…

I tried to block her from my mind and focus on escape. Whatever she knew, I couldn't do anything about it until I got out of the box. My jail was about six feet high. The air holes ringed the top foot of wall space. If I ducked down, maybe I could demorph without her seeing. Risky, but she couldn't be sure I was human. And desperate times called for desperate measures.

I looked out, trying to see what Melissa was doing. I came eye to eye, almost literally, with my captor looking back through the hole at me. I didn't flinch, and neither did she.

"And once my host's father and the rest of your teachers get back, your little group will be destroyed," she hissed in my face. "I'll get a promotion, of course, because you see, I know something that pathetic rabble doesn't."

Call it a premonition, but before she'd even said it, I started demorphing.

"See, it's why I don't care if you demorph or not. Because I know exactly who you really are, _Rachel_."

She chuckled, then moved rapidly to out of control laughter.

"Remember in second grade when Miss Tam caught us playing with slap bracelets on the playground?? Melissa does! Oh my best friend in the whole world! Let's exchange 'BFF' necklaces and call each other on the phone EVERY DAY!" she shrieked manically. That sealed it. This Yeerk was nuts.

A chill ran through my veins, but it was almost immediately replaced with a shot of adrenaline. I shed the last remnants of bear and stood on my tip-toes so I could look my old friend in the eye again. Instead of fear or frustration, a cold-blooded calm overtook me. All emotions drained, leaving my thoughts clear. Because as bad as Melissa's discovery was for me and the other Animorphs, she'd revealed two things during her long-winded rant that extinguished any traces of trepidation in me.

One: she was the only one who knew exactly who I was. She was keeping the information secret so she could look good for her superiors.

Two: she was here at the compound alone. Everyone else was out hunting Marco, Ax, and my civic values class.

It was so easy. Eliminate Melissa, and I eliminated the problem.


End file.
